Leo Joseph Nomellini was an Italian-American professional football player and professional wrestler. He played as an offensive and defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis Boxing & Wrestling Club, originally founded in 1933, which served as the Minnesota-based territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 1948 onward, before breaking away from the NWA and becoming an independent territory in 1960.